Hiking With Gadget Girl

Olympic National Park - Enchanted Valley

The Enchanted Valley is located the Olympic National Park via the East Fork Quinault River Trail in Washington State. Hikers and backpackers require a permit to access this trail through Recreation.gov - https://www.recreation.gov/permits/4098362 

05-21-22 Day 1 of 4: Four gal pals set forth on May 21st for a four day backpacking trip to the Enchanted Valley, which is located in the beautiful Olympic National Park. After a five hour drive, we arrived at a totally packed trailhead and ended up parking .26 of a mile away. We met numerous backpackers returning from their own adventures and most had huge happy smiles and great stories of bears and elk they saw. Our heads were on swivel sticks are we scanned constantly for bears.

(A little history: The trail starts at the Graves Creek Trailhead and follows the East Fork of the Quinault River through old growth forest to our destination at the Enchanted Valley approx 14 miles up the valley. There is a boarded up chalet that was used as a mountain retreat for hikers and horseback riders back in the 1930's. During World War II, this chalet was used as an aircraft warning station and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was also used as a Ranger Station but was shuttered due to the river eroding away the ground underneath the chalet. At one point the chalet was going in the river but there was such an outcry from the general hiking/backpacking/equestrian population that the chalet was moved away from the river. It is still closed.)

At 7.52 miles up and carrying 32-37 lb packs (which included required bear canisters) we were happy to stop at the halfway point at O'Neil Creek campground for the night. We scored a beautiful campsite under the immense Mother Tree, a oak tree covered heavily in moss. (Well, everything was covered in moss!)

Each backpacking campground has a privy, a totally delightful way to backpack. It didn't take long after dinner for the long day to catch up and we were ready for bed by 7pm.

05-22-22 Day 2 of 4: A quiet clear night started the morning with 38 degrees and a sunny day. After retrieving our bear canisters hidden in the woods, we leisurely ate breakfast, broke camp and hit the trail. There was some blowdown after Pyrites Creek and we had to climb over and then we saw our first bear! So exciting! Continued on through the lush forest, our heads on a swivel as we continually scanned for bears. Arrived at a wooden gate, how odd and what was it doing in the middle of the trail? Right after the gate there was three elk grazing in the woods. They didn't bolt so must be used to backpackers. (A passing backpacking coming down mentioned there must have been 90 tents set up in Enchanted Valley Friday night. I think we passed most of them as they were coming down the trail.) Crossed a bridge 20 feet in the air and then we were in Enchanted Valley!

And another bear! (Overall, we saw 15 bears on this trip. Were we lucky or what...)

The towering cliffs with waterfalls everywhere, the closed chalet view, and the bears made it truly magical. We were pretty much the only ones there at first and had our choice of campsites. After setting up camp and fetching water, a handful of backpackers arrived as dazzled as we were from the surrounding beauty. Then another bear sighting as he munched his way around our campsite. He kept a wary eye on us and we kept a wary eye on him (yes, two of us had bear spray).

Two and a half hours of entertainment later, he mosied away towards the river. There was a huge bear across the river eating his dinner too. More excitement started as we heard and watched avalanches filled with snow and water roaring down the  waterfalls.

How thrilling! An amazing day...

05-23-22 Day 3 of 4: It was quiet last night, no bear raids or any other scary things. In fact, no bears at all until we started up the trail towards Anderson Pass for a quick side hike to the World Largest Western Hemlock tree.

I always love visiting the rain forest as the trees can be massive. I also can't believe how we have lucked out with dry weather so far. Just over two miles we arrived at the sign pointing the way to the tree. A short jaunt and voila, there it was! Back at camp we quickly finished packing and headed back to O'Neil Creek (7.44 miles) for our final night of the trip.

A few more bears and elk to ooh and aah over, and a quick stop to gawk at a gigantic rootball. Of course we had to climb up in it!

At O'Neil Creek we were delighted to find that our campsite under the Mother Tree was available and we set up home for the night. After dinner, we celebrated a birthday, complete with candle, amazing cheesecake, and delicious bubbly in a 12oz can. Thank you gals for packing in the birthday surprise! I was also serenaded with the Beatles song "When I'm 64“. I wasn't the oldest or the youngest of the group, but right there in the middle, happy as a clam!

05-24-22 Day 4 of 4: Our last day of our Enchanted Valley backpacking trip was an easy hike back to the car. Did not see any bears or elk today, just a handful of incoming backpackers and day hikers.

After we unloaded our packs in the car, we hurriedly changed into clean clothing. Ahhh, felt so good! Decided to take a little side trip north on Hwy 101 to Klaloch Campground and visit the Tree of Life. As we were driving out past Lake Quinault, it started to rain. Wow, how lucky is that! At Klaloch Campground, we donned our raingear (that we carried the past four days and never used) and headed for the beach. There it was, the Tree of Life, a Sitka Spruce that no one knows how old it is, clinging by its roots to the sandy soil. Such a symbol of tenacity and never giving up.

I hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we enjoyed sharing it with you. On to the next adventure!